Category Archives: Everything Else

After six years of written interviews and stories and blog posts and one year of podcasting, it’s time to close the book on TheBicycleStory. I launched this project on Nov 1. 2010 with an interview with Stevil Kinevil. I wasn’t sure exactly what the path forward would be for the site, but the late 2000s bike culture boom was reaching its peak and there were a seemingly endless number of fascinating characters in thebike world about whom I wanted to know more. Luckily, it turned out there were lots of readers who were also interested in the lives of bike racers, adventurers, advocates, industry insiders, dirt bags and wild women and men.

When I launched the podcast last year, my intentions were threefold: breath some new life into the site, give myself an opportunity to experiment with podcasting, and create a revenue-generating product. The first two items were grand successes. The latter, much less so. In order for podcast sponsorship to work, the podcast needs a fairly large listenership. My hope was to sustain the podcast through listener support via Patreon pledges while building up a sponsorship-worthy audience. Unfortunately neither really happened. There were a handful of extremely generous listeners who made pledges and helped keep the project going for as long as it did. I am eternally grateful for their kindness and support! But ultimately the Patreon base and the overall audience remained fairly stagnant over time and never reached the sort of sustainability I needed.

I realize this might sound like sour grapes, but I promise you it’s not! I recognize there were plenty of things I did (or didn’t do) to help the podcast reach its full potential. More importantly, I am deeply humbled and have nothing but gratitude for all TheBicycleStory’s readers and listeners and supporters and interviewees over the years. It’s been a fantastic and satisfying ride.

Though there won’t be any new interviews or episodes on TheBicycleStory from here on out, the site will remain online. You can help me offset hosting costs (and clear out my closet!) by picking up a BicycleStory tee from the shop. They’re deeply discounted right now and shipping is free anywhere in the U.S.

So once again, thank you to all the amazing people who shared their stories over the years. And thank you to all the readers and listeners for your support. TheBicycleStory could not have existed without you.

All my best,
Josh

Note: This post originally appeared on the site on December 14, 2016, but a hacker got in and messed things up, so I’m reposting.

Joey Schusler is a pro mountain biker, skier, and filmmaker who’s made films about bikepacking and backcountry ski adventures in Peru, Mexico, Colorado, and elsewhere. His latest short The Trail to Kazbegi, documents a bikepacking trip through the Caucasus Mountains in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. It is pure adventure porn filled with amazing trails and even more amazing mountains. Give it a watch.

For just over five years now, The Bicycle Story has brought you interviews with cycling’s most interesting advocates, adventurers, racers, industry insiders, and oddballs from all corners of the bike world. And though The Bicycle Story is now producing podcasts instead of written interviews, the heart of the project remains people. They’ve always been the driving force and centerpiece of this site and they always will be. Likewise, The Bicycle Story’s content has always been free to read and that’s not about to change.

But, The Bicycle Story’s evolution to podcasting needs your support. Audio has the potential to open the door to new and exciting stories and reach even more people, but podcasting takes a tremendous amount of work. Each episode requires research, reporting, editing, production, and promotion and it simply isn’t feasible without the support of listeners like you!

That’s where Patreon comes in. Patreon is built on the idea that lots of people giving a little bit can do amazing things. Though similar to Kickstarter, Patreon supporters pledge a recurring monthly payment. It can be as little as a dollar and as much as you want! In exchange, you can get access to great rewards such as a members-only, behind-the-scenes newsletter and story round-up, and swag. If you are connected with a company interested in direct sponsorship of episodes, give me a shout at info@thebicyclestory.com.

Now until stock is gone, The Bicycle Story logo tee’s are 30 percent off in the online shop. I’ve got tees remaining in XS, Small, Medium, and Large and I want them out of my closet and into your hearts and homes! They are high quality American Apparel screen printed here in Seattle by a rad mom and pop shop. Get one today. When they’re gone they may be gone forever!

The Megamoon tour of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Photo via maiamedia.co.uk.

When Hannah Maia and Patrick Taylor-Bird got married, they decided to go big with their honeymoon: a three-month bike tour from New Mexico to Canada along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Maia is a filmmaker and documented their trip with this fantastic short film. It does a remarkable job of capturing the joys and challenges of bike touring. Awe, exhaustion, thrill, the need to sing out loud to distract yourself on a seemingly-endless climb. The film reminded me of past trips and got me day dreaming about future adventures.